Canadian Dental Care Plan 2026-27 is open for applications right now, and the numbers show just how big it has become. Health Canada’s latest statistics, valid as of September 30, 2026, put enrolment for the 2026-27 benefit year at 5,015,189 people — and 7,653,151 Canadians have been enrolled at some point since the plan launched in December 2023.
That makes the CDCP one of the largest social programs in Canadian history. But a fresh Auditor General report, tabled October 29, 2026, adds a warning: the plan is costing more than the government budgeted for, and future payments are expected to outrun the funding currently available. For now, though, the plan is running, applications are open, and eligible Canadians can still sign up for the benefit year that runs July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
Who qualifies: four requirements, all of them mandatory
The CDCP is not open to everyone. You must meet all four of these requirements:
- You are a Canadian resident for tax purposes.
- You filed a Canadian tax return for the previous year.
- Your adjusted family net income is under $90,000.
- You have no access to private dental insurance or coverage — through an employer, a pension, or a family member’s plan.
Miss any one of them and you do not qualify. There is one narrow exception: if you retired and opted out of dental coverage through your pension plan before December 11, 2023, and you cannot opt back in, you may still be eligible.
Your adjusted family net income is your net income from line 23600 of your tax return, plus your spouse or partner’s, with some adjustments for Universal Child Care Benefit and Registered Disability Savings Plan income. It is the same income figure the government uses for several other federal benefits, so one tax filing decides a lot at once.
The plan has been open to eligible Canadians of all ages since May 2025, when adults aged 18 to 64 joined seniors, children, and people with a disability tax certificate. There is no age test anymore — income and insurance status decide it.
What you pay depends on your income
The CDCP pays a share of the plan’s established fee for each covered service. Your share — the co-payment — depends on your adjusted family net income:
- Under $70,000: the plan covers 100% of eligible costs at the CDCP established fee. You pay a 0% co-payment.
- $70,000 to $79,999: the plan covers 60%. You pay a 40% co-payment.
- $80,000 to $89,999: the plan covers 40%. You pay a 60% co-payment.
- $90,000 or more: you are not eligible.
Here is what that looks like in practice. A family earning $65,000 pays nothing on a cleaning or filling billed at the CDCP fee. The same visit for a family earning $75,000 carries a 40% co-payment, and at $85,000 it is 60%. The catch is in the phrase “CDCP established fee.” A dental office can charge more than the plan’s fee, and that extra amount is yours to pay on top of any co-payment. Always ask the provider what you will owe before treatment starts.
Most members fall in the no-co-payment group. The Auditor General found that about 87% of members in the first benefit period were in the tier where 100% of eligible costs were covered at the CDCP fee, and about 560,000 members who received care paid nothing out of pocket at all.
What is covered — and what is not
The plan helps pay for a wide range of services when an oral health provider recommends them. Covered services include dental exams, x-rays, cleaning and scaling, fluoride applications, and sealants; fillings and pain control for diseased teeth; root canal treatments; gum disease treatment, including cleaning under the gumline; crowns, dentures, denture repairs and relines; tooth removal and other oral surgery; and sedation.
Some services need preauthorization first — crowns, partial dentures, and deep sedation among them. That means your provider recommends the service and the plan confirms coverage before you receive it. Not every request is approved. Orthodontic services are currently not available under the plan, and implant-related procedures are excluded.
Claims are handled by Sun Life, which administers the plan. Your provider submits the claim directly, and you should not have to pay the full cost upfront — only your co-payment and any charges above the CDCP fee. More than 27,000 oral health providers were participating as of March 31, 2026.
How to apply — and the renewal trap to avoid
You can apply online through your My Service Canada Account, through the application form on Canada.ca, or by phone at 1-833-537-4342 (TTY 1-833-677-6262). There is no fee to apply or renew. The government warns that the CDCP will never ask you to pay to apply, and to beware of scams by mail, phone, text, or email asking for personal or banking information.
One deadline matters more than any other. Coverage must be renewed every year, and the renewal period for the 2026-27 benefit year closed on June 1, 2026. If you had coverage for 2025-26 and missed that deadline, you can still re-apply — but there will be a gap in your coverage, and care you receive during the gap is not reimbursed. The next renewal period opens in spring 2027 for the 2027-28 benefit year.
What the Auditor General found
The October 29, 2026 audit is mostly good news for members. As of March 2026, about 6.9 million people were enrolled and roughly 61% had used their benefits. Members who used the program in 2025 spent an average of $264 out of pocket, compared with $536 for Canadian households in the most recent comparable Statistics Canada data.
But the audit also found that in the plan’s first two years, payments for dental benefits exceeded Health Canada’s budget commitment by about $1.1 billion in total, and forecasts show payments from 2026-27 to 2031-32 are expected to exceed the funding currently available. The audit also noted that Health Canada did not check claims and preauthorization decisions continuously — for six months in the 2025-26 fiscal year, it did not verify whether decisions were being made accurately.
None of that changes your coverage today. The plan is funded and running, and the government has not announced any cut to eligibility or benefits. But it does mean the program’s long-term funding is now a live political question, and worth watching as the next federal budget approaches.
What this means for you
If you have been putting off the dentist because of cost, the CDCP is worth a ten-minute check. The four requirements are simple, the application is free, and most members pay nothing at the CDCP fee level. Just remember the two things that catch people out: the $90,000 income ceiling is a hard cutoff, and a missed renewal means a gap in coverage that is never paid back.
The plan sits alongside other federal help for the same households. The Canada Child Benefit supports families with children, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit adds up to $679 a year for a single person, and the Canada Disability Benefit and CPP Disability support Canadians who cannot work. Check the payment dates for those benefits alongside your dental coverage so nothing slips through.
FAQ: Canadian Dental Care Plan 2026-27
Who can apply for the Canadian Dental Care Plan in 2026-27?
Any Canadian resident for tax purposes who has filed a tax return, has an adjusted family net income under $90,000, and has no access to private dental insurance. Applications for the benefit year July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 are open now.
How much does the CDCP pay?
It depends on income. Under $70,000, the plan covers 100% of eligible costs at the CDCP established fee. From $70,000 to $79,999 it covers 60%, and from $80,000 to $89,999 it covers 40%. At $90,000 or more, you are not eligible.
What dental services does the CDCP cover?
Exams, x-rays, cleaning, fluoride, sealants, fillings, root canals, gum treatment, crowns, dentures, oral surgery, and sedation. Some services, including crowns and partial dentures, need preauthorization. Orthodontics is currently not available and implants are excluded.
How do I apply for the CDCP?
Apply online through My Service Canada Account or the Canada.ca application form, or call Service Canada at 1-833-537-4342. There is no fee to apply. You will receive a letter with your member ID, coverage start date, and co-payment level.
I missed the June 1, 2026 renewal deadline. What happens now?
You can re-apply for the 2026-27 benefit year, but you will have a gap in coverage, and dental care received during that gap is not reimbursed. The next renewal period opens in spring 2027.
Sources: Health Canada, Canadian Dental Care Plan — Canada.ca (applications open for 2026-27; eligibility; coverage and co-payment tiers), accessed November 7, 2026. Health Canada, CDCP Application Statistics, valid September 30, 2026 (5,015,189 enrolled for 2026-27; 7,653,151 since launch). Office of the Auditor General of Canada, Canadian Dental Care Plan performance audit, tabled October 29, 2026 (6.9 million enrolled as of March 2026; 61% used benefits; $1.1 billion over budget commitment). Health Canada, Canadian Dental Care Plan Annual Report 2024-2025, published September 2026 (opened to all ages by May 2025; 3,557,400 enrolled in first benefit period; $2.1 billion paid).